EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; DEFENSES – Waiver by Union; Contract Waivers; Bargaining History Estoppel; Disclaimer; Supersession

Single Topic for Decision

View all topics for Decision

Full Decision Text (click on the link to view): Full Text

Despite the narrow holding of Marysville Joint Unified School District (1983) PERB Decision No. 314 (Marysville) as a waiver by contract defense, the Board has at times applied the case in an inconsistent manner. For instance, the Board has periodically applied Marysville not as a contract waiver defense but rather as an element necessary for a charging party to establish as part of its prima facie case for a unilateral change, effectively requiring the charging party to prove that a contract did not permit the change at issue. [Citations.] However, more modern Board decisions have returned to treating Marysville as a waiver defense. [Citations.] As part of returning to Marysville’s roots, the Board has held that an employer commits a prima facie unilateral change if it begins to enforce a contract or policy in a new way, a holding that in practice requires the employer to raise Marysville’s contractual waiver doctrine as an affirmative defense. (p. 17.)